Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika flew Monday to Geneva for regular medical tests, the presidency said in a statement.
Dr. Rashid Bougherbal, a cardiologist who monitored the president's treatment when he suffered a stroke on April 27, 2013, was contacted by Asharq Al-Awsat for more information about Bouteflika's current trip, but he declined to comment.
The presidency takes the issue of Bouteflika’s illness very seriously and treats it with extreme sensitivity.
He was scheduled to undergo medical examinations at a clinic in Switzerland and another clinic in Grenoble, France. His brother and senior adviser often travel with him.
Separately, the French embassy denied rumors on alleged measures implemented by the French Ministry of Solidarity and Health against travelers from Algeria, following the outbreak of cholera in the country.
“These rumors refer to the need for travelers to present a medical certificate upon their arrival in French airports and that travelers without this certificate will have to be examined at French airports for fee,” explained an embassy statement.
Algerian authorities, for their part, announced that they have contained the spread of the epidemic and that "the situation is completely under control.”
The Libyan Ministry of Health, meanwhile, revealed that it has taken preventive measures on the border with Algeria to avert the spread of cholera into its territories.
